Saturday, 31 May 2014

Hello Everyone!I thought it might be nice if I did a discussion on why and when I mark books as Did-Not-Finish, since I never do reviews on those books. Now, I'll point out that I feel as though this is something I rarely do, and there are some books I wish I had just put down than waste so much time on reading them, but ah well. What can you do?

Thinking back to the times when I've DNF'd a book, I've either been in a reading slump or the book was making me feel bad. When I say the latter, I mean maybe the book was boring me, maybe it was making me think "What on earth is this!?" or maybe I just hated all the characters. You see, my opinions on a book are based a lot on how it makes me feel, so it's not going to get brownie points if my brain is starting to sound reasonable when it suggests I should go stare at a wall for an hour. I think this is kind of the basics for DNF-ing. However, sometimes it is a lot more complicated than that. I think I might as well give you an example at this point: I started reading The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater the other day. Today, I decided to DNF it. However, before I did that I started flicking through the pages I hadn't read yet and I just read the bits that seemed good. This is because, I don't necessarily feel that The Scorpio Races is a bad book. What I do think, is that the concept is really interesting and I was curious, but the writing didn't capture me. Neither did the plot. This is hard to explain, but I felt like I wanted to know the outcome and what was going to happen, but I felt like large part of the book was also boring me and was unneeded. It's kind of harsh, but that's how I was feeling. After a while, I decided that I couldn't keep reading it and I just went ahead and flicked through it.Before I end this, I thought I might offer my explanation as to why I don't usually DNF. I think that the reason is simply that I'm scared that the book is going to be really good just as I put it down, and then it could be really good AND I WOULD NEVER FIND OUT. Do you know how traumatising that situation sounds?! Also, when it comes to review books, I always feel bad about DNF-ing as the publisher or author has been nice enough to let me have a copy of their book in the first place. It's really conflicting.. >.<

When and why do you DNF books? If you don't DNF at all, why not? Is it for the same reasons as me?

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

As part of the First Loves Blog Tour, today I'm sharing a chapter one extract of the second book in the 'If Only...' series, Wish You Were Italian. I hope you enjoy it!

Title: Wish You Were ItalianAuthor: Kristin RaeSeries: If Only... #2Source: PublisherPublisher: Bloomsbury Children'sRelease Date: June 5th 2014No. of Pages: 323Pippa has always wanted to go to Italy … but not by herself. And certainly not to sit in art school the entire summer learning about dead guys’ paintings. When she steps off the plane in Rome, she realizes that traveling solo gives her the freedom to do whatever she wants. So it’s arrivederci, boring art program and ciao, hot Italian guys!Charming, daring, and romantic, Bruno is just the Italian Pippa’s looking for—except she keeps running into cute American archeology student Darren everywhere she goes. Pippa may be determined to fall in love with an Italian guy … but the electricity she feels with Darren says her heart might have other plans. Can Pippa figure out her feelings before her parents discover she left the program and—even worse—she loses her chance at love? -(Goodreads)

Monday, 26 May 2014

Today, as part of the First Loves blog tour, I'm sharing with you my review of the first book in the 'If Only..' series. Thank you to Bloomsbury for involving me in the blog tour! As always, Enjoy!

Title: Fool Me TwiceAuthor: Mandy HubbardSeries: If Only... #1Source: PublisherPublisher: Bloomsbury Children'sRelease Date: June 5th 2014No. of Pages: 272Mackenzie and Landon
were the perfect couple . . . until he dumped her and broke her heart.
Fast-forward a year and they're back where they first met—Serenity Ranch
and Spa, where they are once again working together for the summer.
Talk about awkward.

Then, Landon takes a nasty fall and gets
amnesia. Suddenly, he’s stuck in the past—literally. His most recent
memory is of last summer, when he and Mack were still together, so now
he’s calling her pet names and hanging all over her. It's the perfect
chance for revenge. The plan is simple: keep Landon at arm’s length,
manipulate him so he’s the one falling love, and then BAM, dump him.
There’s just one problem: Mack can’t fall for Landon all over again.

The
If Only romance line is all about wanting what you can't have, and
Mandy Hubbard's hilarious break-up/love story is sure to captivate
anyone who has ever wished for a second shot at love. -(Goodreads)

Saturday, 17 May 2014

The lovely author gave me a copy of this book for review (After which I proceeded to jump with joy!) so thank you to Mila Gray (Sarah Alderson)! As always, this does not affect any of my opinions! :) Also, the cover hasn't been revealed yet, but I will update this as soon as it is!Title: Come Back To MeAuthor: Mila GraySeries: N/ASource: AuthorPublisher: PanRelease Date: June 26th 2014No. of Pages: 373Home on leave in sunny California, Marine and local lothario Kit Ryan finds himself dangerously drawn to his best friend's sister, Jessa - the one girl he can't have.

But Kit's not about to let a few obstacles stand in his way and soon Jessa's falling for his irresistible charms.

What starts out as a summer romance of secret hook-ups and magical first times quickly develops into a passionate love affair that turns both their worlds upside down.

When summer's over and it's time for Kit to redeploy, neither Kit nor Jessa are ready to say goodbye. Jessa's finally following her dreams and Kit's discovered there's someone he'd sacrifice everything for.

Jessa's prepared to wait for Kit no matter what. But when something more than distance and time rips them apart they're forced to decide whether what they have is really worth fighting for..-(Goodreads)

Except...There’s a price to pay for paradise. Every fourth year, the strange power that fuels the town exacts its payment by infecting teens with deadly urges. In a normal year in Gardnerville, teens might stop talking to their best friends. In a fourth year, they’d kill them.

Four years ago, Skylar’s sister, Piper, was locked away after leading sixteen of her classmates to a watery grave. Since then, Skylar has lived in a numb haze, struggling to forget her past and dull the pain of losing her sister. But the secrets and memories Piper left behind keep taunting Skylar—whispering that the only way to get her sister back is to stop Gardnerville’s murderous cycle once and for all. -(Goodreads)

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

Hello Everyone!For this week's Bring Out the Book Boyfriends, I decided to select a boy from one of my favourite books: Hunting Lila! Thank you to Sarah Alderson, the lovely author, for RT-ing my shout outs for help and another big thank you to Mizzy who was awesome enough to tell me why she loves Alex!

I would be really thankful if you could leave a comment telling me why you love Alex! You never know- I may just update this post with all your responses! ;)

Monday, 5 May 2014

Today, I have my first ever cover reveal on the blog! Exciting, yes? What's even better than that is that though this book was released on May 1st, this cover reveal hopes to get the word out about this book that is for an amazing cause. Here are some details along with the marvellous cover:

Praise for Empower: Fight Like A Girl

"Even non-girls will feel empowered by these stories about ordinary, flawed characters finding their own strengths. Highly entertaining and original."

- Lee Goldberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Chase and King City, whose mother lost her hearing to lupus.

Women of TV have united against lupus! Presenting Empower: Fight Like A Girl, a special collection of short stories by top women writers from some of your favorite shows, including: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Family Guy, Person of Interest, Grimm, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order: SVU, Star Trek: Voyager, Eureka, Twisted, The 100, Malcolm in the Middle, Millennium, Being Human, The Shield, Castle, Chuck, Gilmore Girls, and Game of Thrones. In this anthology, you'll discover supernatural thrillers, crime mysteries, horror, comedies, and more.

Saturday, 3 May 2014

I like to finish the series I start, and since I liked the first two books, really wanted to read this book. Here's the result:Title: EverneathAuthor: Brodi AshtonSeries: Everneath #1Source: LibraryPublisher: Balzer + BrayRelease Date: January 21st 2014No. of Pages: 336Now that Nikki has rescued Jack, all she wants is to be with him and graduate high school. But Cole tricked Nikki into feeding off him, and she’s begun the process of turning into an Everliving herself... which means she must feed on a Forfeit soon — or die.

Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?. -(Goodreads)

Thursday, 1 May 2014

Hello Everyone!!Since I failed at doing my monthly recaps this year, I've decided to give you one HUGE post so far with a compilation of my favourite things from the past four months! I hope you enjoy it and that it makes up for the missed recaps.

The Multi-Language Version of 'Let it Go' from Frozen. Basically, it's the whole song sung in 25 different languages. SO. COOL.Empire by Shakira. Shakira is just so awesome.Panic Chord and Home by Gabrielle Aplin. All her songs are amazing.She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds Of Summer. Excuse my love for this band, but I love their songs.I love Mumford & Sons, and I Will Wait has to be one of my favourite songs.Since the 25th of April was the day of the Portuguese Revolution in 1974, this song is held dear to the hearts of many people, so I had to listen to it. You can find out more about the Portuguese Revolution here.

After I Blogged I Watched:

Modern Family. I laugh so much when I watch this. It's perfect for making you feel better on a Monday.The Middle. This, again, is so funny. All the characters are so ridiculously funny that I always end up in stiches.The Good Wife. This is so good. So much tension, and back-stabbing. Basically, it's really dramatic and awesome. I haven't included a trailer because I don't want to spoil anything.. but it's really good!Agents of SHIELD. Oh Gosh. Here we go. This is my favourite TV Show right now. So many feelings, so many Ships, SO MUCH EVERYTHING. Along with the trailer, here's an intro to my favourite characters (I lied, they're an OTP) to convince you to watch. Also- look out for some SHIELD related stuff, here on the blog!

The Crimson Field. This is really good too. It's about the nurses and doctors in WWI, and me and my sister are currently loving it!